Opening sequence

The Opening is what starts the episodes of the Simpsons. It has varied other years.

Season 1

The season 1 opening started with THE SIMPSONS materializing on a dark blue screen with clouds. We fly over the power plant and tire yard, toward downtown Springfield. We move up the street past "Painless Dentistry toward the purple colored elementary school. We move through the school window and see Bart writing lines on the class chalkboard, as a punishment. In the background, three pieces of stick-figure art hang net to Bart. He hears the bell and leaves, skating past a grassy field with trees and a crudely drawn background. Then it cuts to the Power Plant, where Homer is leaving when he hears the whistle, not realizing the rod he accidentally took, there is a bald man behind him eating a sandwich with tongs. The caution sign over Homer's head has two holes on the right side, both blank. The next shot shows Marge and Maggie checking out at a supermarket. Marge reads "Mom Monthly" in the check out line. Maggie is inadvertently scanned along with the groceries. The cashier rings her up at as $847.63 and Maggie is mistakenly packaged. Marge wonders where Maggie is. She pops out of one of the shopping bags, and Marge sighs in relief. Then it cuts again to the school, where the band is practicing. Lisa interrupts the rehearsal by playing a sax solo and is told to leave by Mr. Largo, due to her non-conforming playing. She does so while she continues playing. Homer drives down the street, uncomfortably discovering the rod in his back. He pulls it out and throws it from the window. It bounces near Moe's. The ord bounces away and the dust clears. Bart comes by on skateboard, with pursed lips in a half grin. His right foot sticks off the board, as he grabs the lamp post to help him make the corner. He skates past a pet store, and a TV store with many Krusty's which he turns and faces. In passing, he grabs the bus stop sign and takes it with him. On a passing bus, a sign says "Can't get enough of that wonderful Duff." The people waiting take off and chase the bus as Marge and Maggie round the corner in a red sedan.

Marge's car is shown wading through the traffic with tires screeching, then the camera cuts to Maggie holding a steering wheel, making it appear that Maggie is driving, the camera then zooms out revealing the wheel to be just a toy for her, as the camera then pans out to show Marge driving. They look at each other, and then they both honk the horn. Lisa is shown wobbling back and forth on her bike, with a large stack of books in the bike basket and a guitar-shaped instrument case behind her. She hits a bump, and all the books fly into the air. She makes a turn down the street. She jumps off her bike in the driveway, grabbing her books and instrument case. The bike moves into the garage, the door already opening for Homer's car, as Lisa runs to the door. Homer's car comes from left to right, makes the turn into the driveway and stops. From the right, Bart one-hops his skateboard across Homer's car. Homer gets out just in time to see Marge's car. He screams a short scream, and runs into the garage as her car pulls in behind. Looking over his shoulder frightened, he opens the door. Upon entering their house, they speed towards the living room couch. There is a different gag of this scene in each episode. The couch is brown, a mouse hole is seen and the painting is a crooked nature painting of a pond. The TV set (close-up) is orange-brown, with an antenna to the top left. Bottom of TV: Dials (3) are green and there are two buttons.

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Season 2-20

The sequence opens with the show's title zooming in on the camera while moving forwards through a brighter blue sky with more cumulus clouds. Flying through the loop, we focus on one purple cooling tower. We see the power plant, welcome sign, and Springfield Prison behind the plant. We fly over the power plant and tire yard, toward downtown Springfield. We move up the street past "Candy Dandy" toward the orange colored elementary school. The infamous streetlamp glitch happens as we move toward the school -- it snaps violently to the right (this is only in a handful of episodes in seasons 2-20). The sequence of Bart writing the Chalkboard Gag is actually redone. Bart's chalkboard does not squeak, as in the first season opening. There is a clock showing 3:00 PM, and wastebasket to Bart's right. A portrait hangs on the right side of the blackboard. A bookcase full of books sits behind him. The animation was also much smoother as Bart bursts out of the door, and the perspective problem is solved. (NOTE: The episode "Little Orphan Millie" has Bart laughing as he runs out of the classroom.) As Bart leaves, he flies gleefully past the flagpole and down the steps on his skateboard. Bart also passes a three-story glass and concrete building, a four-story orange building, and some trees and bushes. The next shot shows Homer leaving the power plant, with a small uranium bar stuck on his back. Mr. Burns and Smithers are seen in the background looking at a layout plan when the end-of-shift whistle blows. Burns puts his watch up to his ear and shakes it, as if he believes it has stopped. During the first season opening sequence, the unknown employee was seen, instead of Mr. Burns and Smithers. The caution sign over Homer's head has a green light on top, and a red light on the bottom.

It then goes to the Grocery store, where Marge is reading the magazine. The background is more orange than red, as in the first season opening sequence. Maggie's hands are now straight on her side rather than put in triangle position. The cost for Maggie is $847.63. Lisa's sequence remains the same, but this time she has a much deeper sax solo. This is followed by the same sequence with Homer driving and throwing the rod out of the window. Bart skates in with a big grin, past a store with an "Open" sign as he turns into a corner. He makes a better turn, with both feet on the board. He passes Helen Lovejoy, carrying bags from the Springfield Mall, passes a book store, dodges to the right, passes Apu Nahasapeemapetilon walking a small barking dog. Bart then dodges left, passes Moe Szyslak, holding a towel and standing in his doorway, passes an approaching Barney (who belches) on his left, passes Jacques Brunswick (who's walking right) carrying a bowling ball and dodges left. TV screens with Krusty appear in the window. Bart looks for a minute, then grins again. He passes Bleeding Gums Murphy, who's facing the street with his sax around his shoulder. Bart, then passes Clancy Wiggum standing on the corner, who yells and shakes his bation at Bart. (NOTE: The episodes, "Little Orphan Millie" and "Husbands and Knives" has some voices accompanying the people Bart skateboards past.) The town square, with the Jebediah Springfield statue is seen in the background. Marge's car comes from the right an turns on to the street that Bart crossed. The car sequence with Marge and Maggie remains the same, but this time the car is orange. However, Lisa's bike sequence,has been cut. Instead, the camera very quickly pans over a static landscape shot of various Springfield locales and a mix of both familiar and relatively unknown characters. The zip-pan to the right shot includes: the highway, Milhouse throwing a baseball, kids playing in a yard, Nelson and thugs with kid in trashcan, Richard and Lewis, Jimbo threatening Martin, old folks in rocking chairs, Patty and Selma suntanning with cone bikini tops, Kent Brockman reporting, Sherri and Terri holding hands, Herman, Grampa and Jasper holding a book, the retirement castle, man reading the retirement castle sign, old folks walking out (like those that Marge sees holding hands in 7G11), man holding thumbs up, Lou and Eddie behind a barricade, Dr. Marvin Monroe holding a clipboard, Wendell with his head out of the bus ready to vomit, Dr. Hibbert comparing notes with Monroe, two blonde girls, cat-eye glass girl in street, Otto next to broken down bus, a bucktoothed boy from orchestra in street, a mountain on the background, a bluebird that Maude sees, Flanders house, Ned and Todd holding another bluebird,

The Simpsons all arrive home at the same time. Homer arrives first, parking his car before the garage, while Bart lands on the car roof with his skateboard. As the garage door opens, Homer gets out glaring at Bart, slamming the door. He quickly dodges Lisa on her bike and yells, "D'oh!" Lisa takes her bike up to the front door. He steps back out and screams as Marge's car approaches. He looks over his left shoulder, then his right as he runs into the garage. This is followed by the Couch Gag. The rabbit ears are more sophisticated and the painting is a crooked sailboat pic. The TV set is blueish purple. Dials on right of set: two on top, blue speaker below, on top of the TV a VCR and rabbit ears on top.

Short versions

There have been shorter versions of this opening during the era. A first version cuts out the scenes featuring Homer driving and Bart skating through town. A shorter version features a quicker scene of Marge and Maggie driving. The second version cuts out this scene and the pan across Springfield. The third version also cuts out the swoop across Springfield and Bart skating out of the school. The fourth version was often shown on 6th and 7th season episodes. It cuts out everything, except the Chalkboard gag, the Driveway scene, and the Couch gag. A shorter version cuts from the Chalkboard gag to Marge's view of Homer running from the car. The fifth version is most common and was shown on a lot of episodes. It only includes the driveway and Couch gag scenes.

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Season 20, starting with Take My Life, Please

The sequence opens with the show's title zooming in on the camera while moving forwards through cumulus clouds. A crow with three eyes passes by as the chorus sing the title. It continues to zoom in on the town where Jimbo Jones and Kearney Zzyzwicz saw off the head of the Jebediah Springfield statue. The head then falls off on Ralph Wiggum, where he was eating an ice cream. Panning behind Ralph, the camera passes by a Lard Lad Donut Statue on the left and a Billboard gag, that changes every episode, on the right. The scene continues to zoom in through a window of Springfield Elementary, where Bart is writing lines on the class chalkboard, as a punishment. Now the portrait is of Homer as an astronaut. The bell rings and Bart zooms out of the school, onto his skateboard, and lands into a pile of leaves Groundskeeper Willie just finished raked up. As Bart jumps off the pile, Barney Gumble is revealed under the pile and belches. The next scene shows Homer getting ready to head back home with a uranium bar stuck on his back. In the background, Lenny Leonard and Carl Carlson were putting up the number three on a sign that says 'Days Without An Accident.' However, they fall off the ladder as they hear the whistle for the end of the shift.

The next shot shows Marge and Maggie, with Selma Bouvier and Patty Bouvier, checking out with the groceries. The items on the conveyor belt include Tomacco juice and Mr. Sparkle power clean detergent (labeled in katakana). When a box of Krusty-O's is scanned, the total amount on the register changes from $236.60 to $243.26, which means the price of the cereal is $6.66. Maggie is inadvertently scanned too, which doubles the register total to $486.52, and she is mistakenly packaged with the groceries. Marge wonders where Maggie is. She pops out of one of the shopping bags, and sees Baby Gerald and shakes her fist at him as Gerald does the same. While Mr. Largo dismisses Lisa, Sherri & Terri are playing video games, rather than playing the flutes as in the original opening. The family is shown on their way to their house at 742 Evergreen Terrace. The members of the family weave dangerously through traffic and in between fellow Springfield citizens—first Homer, who discards the stuck uranium bar from his back by throwing it, which lands on Otto Mann. (This time there is no dust when the rod bounces away.) Otto, not knowing what it is, eats it. Bart skateboards pass him and passes by Sideshow Bob, who tries to kill Bart, Helen Lovejoy, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and his eight children, Moe Szyslak, Comic Book Guy, Disco Stu, the Crazy Cat Lady, the Rich Texan and once again, Clancy Wiggum. Hans Moleman peeks out the manhole in the street, but Marge's car slams it shut as it passes by. Marge's car is shown wading through the traffic with tires screeching, then the camera cuts to Maggie holding a steering wheel, making it appear that Maggie is driving, the camera then zooms out revealing the wheel to be just a toy for her, as the camera then pans out to show Marge driving. As they both honk their respective horns, Abraham Simpson wakes up and loses his false teeth as he was sitting right next to them in the car. The camera very quickly pans over the same static landscape shot of various Springfield locales and a mix of both familiar and relatively unknown characters like the last opening, but this time it includes a lot more characters, even God and the Devil. The new shot includes:

Agnes, Skinner, Chalmers, Milhouse playing ball with Richard and Lewis, Willie on his tractor, Ralph playing on Frank Grimes' grave, Martin about to be beaten by the three bullies, Squeaky-Voiced Teen, Quimby and Miss Springfield wearing each other's sashes, a magician, the sea captain holding a 3-eyed fish, Patty and Selma still sunbathing in those suits, Cletus and Brandine with a pig, Kang and Kodos in a UFO, Burns and Smithers, Kent and a cameraman, Sherri and Terri still playing video games, Krusty smoking on a wall with "El Barto" graffiti, Bumblebee Man and Luigi watching the UFO, Eddie and Lou at the bus roadblock, Snake stealing Lou's gun, Fat Tony with Legs and Louie burying someone, Miss Hoover changing the flat tire on the broken-down bus, Wendell still leaning out of the bus (sick), kids in front including Janey, Dr. Hibbert with a clipboard (but no Monroe), Duffman, Jessica Lovejoy, Mr. Teeny and Sideshow Mel, God (whose head is off-screen) fighting the devil (who's standing on a tower), and finally Rod and Todd playing in their yard.

The Simpsons all arrive home at the same time. Homer arrives first, parking his car before the garage, while Bart lands on the car roof with his skateboard. As Homer steps out of the car, he quickly dodges Lisa zooming by on her bike and says, "D'oh!", but was too late to avoid Marge's car. The scene shifts to Marge's sight, inside the car, showing Homer being shoved through the wall by the car. Upon entering their house, the couch gag follows. The living room is mostly the same, nut the TV is now a widescereen HD model, with the bent rabbit-ears still on top. Again, a widescreen set, with four unmarked buttons on the right, speakers below. A VCR or some unit is on top still. As the theme song ends, the television showing the opening credits falls off as if it was hanged on the wall. Unlike the previous opening sequences, there is no cut to black; the episode begins immediately.

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Other versions

Live action

In 2006, Sky1 in the United Kingdom began advertising The Simpsons using a live-action recreation of the series' opening sequence directed by Chris Palmer.

It was the second time they had done so, the first being in September 2000 as part of a weekend celebrating the 10th anniversary of the show premiering in the UK. Except for the very first shot in which the logo appears out of the clouds, every piece of the opening is present in this version, with even multiple chalkboard and couch gags filmed. Attached to the end of this sequence is the message "Come home to The Simpsons on Sky One." A version was also made for cinema distribution. Because the live action sequence was made in the UK, there are some slight cultural differences, such as Homer and Marge driving on the left in a right hand drive car, and the actor playing Chief Wiggum wearing a British police uniform.

The sequence was used instead of the regular opening titles on the episode "Homer Simpson, This Is Your Wife", first broadcast on FOX on March 26, 2006 with the images during the driving scenes mirrored so that the cars appeared to be driving on the right side of the road with the steering wheel on the left side of the car.

Treehouse of Horror IX

Another fall afternoon at Springfield Elementary finds Bart Simpson engaged in his after-school punishment. This time, he has to write "The Simpsons Halloween Special IX." Instead of the usual chalk, Bart chooses to write the message in blood (dipping the brush into a jack-o-lantern bucket when it's time for a refill). When the bell rings, he tosses the brush down and gleefully runs out of the building. At home, Homer pulls into the driveway. Bart skateboards in from the right, jumps the retaining wall, and bounces off the roof of Homer's car only to land with a thud in the driveway. Lisa races in on her bike and slams into Bart's broken body. The impact launches her from her bike, and Lisa is firmly lodged into the wall of the garage, just above the door. Marge and Maggie cheerily drive in, beeping their horn, but Homer is too slow in getting out of the way. He becomes a permanent hood ornament for Marge's car. Meanwhile, in the Simpson living room Freddie Krueger and Jason Voorhees wait vainly for the family to arrive. Freddie glances at his watch, and says they should have arrived by now. Jason just shrugs and takes things in stride.

Christmas

A Christmas-themed version was animated for "Kill Gil: Vols. 1 & 2" and later re-aired with "The Burns and the Bees". It begins with two lines of instrumental "O Christmas Tree" and then the normal theme music begins. This version is similar to the normal version, except for several key differences:

Everything outside is covered with snow
Bart's skateboard has been replaced with a snowboard
Everyone is wearing winter clothes
Mr. Burns and Smithers have been replaced by a Scrooge-esque Burns and Ghost of Marley-esque Smithers, and there are several Christmas banners in the plant
Lisa's saxophone solo is a jazzy version "Deck the Halls"
Bleeding Gums Murphy, who is now deceased, has been replaced with Jasper in a Santa costume. Maude Flanders, however, remains in the pan across Springfield, despite having also died.
Marge and Maggie's supermarket and car sequence have been cut

In the end, the family sits on the couch and the camera then pulls out to reveal that the family was reflected in a Christmas ornament, which rests on a Christmas tree.

The Simpsons Movie

The sequence was completely remade for The Simpsons Movie and features the orchestrated version of "The Simpsons Theme" as adapted by Hans Zimmer, which is slightly different from the first track of The Simpsons Movie: The Music CD. The pre-sequence scene is displayed in a 16:9 television aspect ratio, with black matte bars at either end of the screen. As the sequence begins with the "The Simpsons" logo appearing out of the clouds, Professor Frink flies past in one of his inventions carrying a banner marked "MOVIE" and saying "Moo-vie! On the big screen!!" (on the DVD version he says "Moo-vie! On DVD!) When he hits the bar on the left side, both it and the one on the right nudge out of view so that the image fills the entire screen.

Instead of going through the P of "SIMPSONS," the camera goes through the O of "MOVIE" as the banner falls loose. The camera zooms in on the town, with several major landmarks popping-up. The camera then zooms in to Mr. Burns, who is holding a toothbrush in his bathroom with Smithers who gives him toothpaste, the extra weight of the toothpaste causes frail Mr. Burns to collapse. The camera then zooms past Moe's Tavern into the Kwik-E-Mart where Apu is secretly changing the expiration date on one of his products from 2006 to 2008. Next the camera cuts to Springfield Elementary where Jimbo, Dolph and Kearney are hoisting Martin Prince up a flagpole by his underwear and saluting it as if it were a flag. The camera then zooms through the window where Bart is writing lines for detention ("I will not illegally download this movie") before finishing with Green Day who are hosting a concert at Lake Springfield, playing their version of "The Simpsons Theme and using a teleprompter to get its "lyrics" right.

The Simpsons Movie callback

For "He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs," the first new Simpsons episode to air after the release of The Simpsons Movie, a callback sequence was animated. The sequence begins with Bart writing lines on the chalkboard, writing "I will not wait 20 years to make another movie". The school bell rings and he skates outside the door, showing the residents of Springfield restoring the town after the events of the movie. The multi-eyed creature from the movie is seen jumping onto Bart's shoulders, but is hit by a wrecking ball into a billboard of "Burns' Constructions", suggesting that Mr. Burns is attempting to make money from the incident. The camera then pans on a large shard of glass, a piece from the destroyed dome. Bart rides on the piece, and weaves in between characters from the movie; President Schwarzenegger, Colin, Moe Szyslak (in his "Emperor" attire), Russ Cargill, and the Medicine Woman, who waves her hand in a similar manner to Chief Wiggum. The family arrives home to 742 Evergreen Terrace, which is shown to be still under construction. Homer's car arrives with the Pig Crap silo strapped on top. The family arrive to sit on the couch, where Plopper the pig is currently sitting, with the "Spider-Pig" tune being played in the background. Homer then grabs Plopper and proclaims that the pig is his "summer love".

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Parodies within the show

The opening sequence is parodied in several episodes of The Simpsons:

A short parody as "The Thompsons" in the episode "Cape Feare," when the Simpsons go into the witness protection program to avoid Sideshow Bob.
In a scene from "Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie," on Parent-Teacher Night, Mrs. Krabappel gives Marge a full report on how badly Bart has been behaving in school, and then forces her to write "I will try to raise a better child" on the blackboard.
Once as "The Hurricane" in the episode "Hurricane Neddy."
In a scene from "Simpsons Bible Stories," Bart is writing a chalkboard punishment in hieroglyphics when he hears Milhouse's horn being blown and leaves the classroom.
In a scene from "Lisa's Date With Density," Lisa receives detention for snickering at Nelson spraying Groundskeeper Willie outside. In addition to this, she writes "I will not be a snickerpuss" on the chalkboard.
In the middle of "The Heartbroke Kid," instead of writing on the blackboard, a fat Bart is putting coins in the vending machine. He then (due to his weight gain) cracks the pavement when he leaves the school, bends the lamppost, runs over pedestrians, hits Marge's car and sends it spinning off screen, and crushes the roof of Homer's car, squeezing him out, before finally stumbling into the living room and apparently having a heart attack.
In the episode "Little Big Girl," Bart is awarded a driver's license, and a section of the opening sequence is shown with Bart at the chalkboard writing "So Long Suckers". He bursts through the school doors in Homer's car, instead of on his skateboard, and speeds away, doing all the same gags as the opening sequence, but instead of nimbly dodging all the obstacles, he runs them over. Homer then pulls into the driveway in Marge's car instead of his own and steps out to enter the house, when the other car lands on him, and Bart walks into the house.